MidWeek Munchies ~ FINALLY Found Daiya Cheesecake!

It's the middle of the week - that means it's time for a NEW MidWeek Munchies Link Up!  Keep reading to participate!  If you noticed MidWeek Munchies on some of your fellow veggie heads blogs last week and wonder how to jump in and have some fun with us NOW is the time!  All you have to do is blog about your Vegan Hauls, Vegan Finds, Vegan Farmers Market Trips, Vegan Online Purchases...you name it, you blog about it, you link up!  It's that easy!  My week this week isn't overly exciting as a whole BUT I am super excited about one of the finds I located after MONTHS of searching!

YUP!  Daiya New York Cheesecake!  I FINALLY found it!  But I haven't tried it yet!  I always LOVED cheese cake if just didn't like me!  So when I hear about vegan cheese cakes I MUST look into them!

For produce this week it's been slim pickin's.  I did grab: sweet onion, lettuce (both bagged and head lettuce), canned pineapple, and San Marzano Tomatoes FRESH!

I still have some produce left over from last week but not much.

As far as convenience items are concerned I did stock up a bit on McDougall's Soups!  It's been a LONG time since I have done that.

I have tried all of the ones I can find locally before but I try and grab them when they are on sale.  While they were NOT on sale this time I wanted to get some lunch items for the next few weeks and they seemed to fit the bill.  Even if they were around $1.79 each that's a heck of a lot better than the 8 to 10 bucks of buying something around town.


Hubby wanted tacos on Sunday so that's something that we can eat together but have out own versions of if you know what I mean.  Therefore...I also purchased Tofutti Sour Cream (I honestly couldn't tell you the last time I bought this so it was a treat), Daiya Cheddar Shreds, Corn Shells, Lemon Juice (I was completely out!  And the fresh lemons didn't look great!  Oh No!), Taco Sauce, and White Rice.  Now it's YOUR TURN!  What's on your Vegan MidWeek Munchies List?

An InLinkz Link-up

In My Kitchen - February

Better Late - than NEVER, eh!?  Yeah...sorry about this In My Kitchen - February being so late!  And I don't know if I am breaking the rules or not but I'm starting this post off with an item that I REALLY enjoyed the past few months and have run out of recently!  This is definitely a restock-able item the next time I get to Trader Joe's!  It's their Vegetable Masala Burger and it's VEGAN.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE the flavor of these.  The first ingredients listed is Potatoes and they are marvelous!  I wasn't even able to eat these as an actual 'burger' - I ate them plain.  I just cooked them in a pan on the stove top with a little bit of Grapeseed Oil and it was spot-on AWESOME!  I think that by putting it between a bun you might lose some of the flavor.  Don't quote me on that but I am FINE with the way I ate it stand-alone!  I already told my husband I will stock up on them next time!

One of the many tea companies I was introduced to this past month was Tea At Sea.  They don't have a HUGE selection of teas (yet) but they are doing a LOT of things RIGHT!  I really LOVE the little "press kit" promotional visual they included in my mailing!  It looks a lot like this...it was a half of a Wine Cork for the base with a tooth pick for the 'body' and a heavy duty paper that you clipped on for the sail!  Very nice!  I was able to sample both their Black Tea as well as their Oolong Tea and both were lovely.

In the past I have shared my Veg*n Findings at Aldi and I am happy to report than their Vegetarian and Vegan offerings are multiplying as well as their Organic offerings!  So exciting!  This month I found a Bean and Corn Salsa/Dip that was not only made with vegan ingredients it was actually LABELED Vegan as well!  AND...I found a Mango Chutney that was labeled vegan, too, YAY!   I also noticed earlier this week that they now have a Vegetarian Section in their Recipe area on their website!

I always have GARLIC in the house...whether it's actual Garlic Cloves and Bulks or Minced Garlic in the Frig or powder even.  I almost always have Lemon Juice in the house, too, but I just ran out of it with the Raw Vegan Burgers I made Sunday Night.  2 flavors I have been using more than usually as of late have been both CURRY and TURMERIC.  Not only the flavors I have been craving but the nutritional benefits of each.  PLUS...with this horribly cold winter we are having it just makes sense to consume them both!

As for Grab-N-Go Convenience Foods this month I have enjoyed a few of the McDougall's Vegan Soups.  I bought them because they were on sale.  They aren't a new-to-me-product but I don't necessarily buy them often either...unless they are on sale.  I especially like the lower sodium offerings because I'm not a salty foods fan - generally speaking.  All of the soups I have tried I have liked.  I see there is a Tamale one that I have tried but want to.  Those are just a few things that have been popular in my kitchen this past month!  How about you!? 

Riley Update, Viana Vegan Spread, Forks Over Knives - Extended Interviews, & Insights

I want to thank everyone for the comments and emails yesterday after I posted about Riley.  All of the positive vibes, prayers, and thoughts were much appreciated!  I'm happy to report that Riley is doing quite well!  He ended up having Oral Surgery.  When I took him in - they were unable to really 'see' what was going on under his tongue/on his teeth.  Riley is a Scared-E-Cat!  He won't let me do his nails, brush his teeth, or even BRUSH him without him throwing a fit!  So it was 'by chance' when he yawned the other night that I even SAW the 'grey spot' to begin with!  I'm glad I did, tho!  When I called the vet about it I told them I felt so bad that I had 'missed it' up until now.  They told me that they 'missed it, too' because he was in for a full physical about two months ago.  They said that it was in a really weird spot, too, and no one would have really seen it! What was "it" you might ask?  Well....eeeeek!  You won't believe it!  I sure didn't!  It was a combo of hair and plaque!  Yes...HAIR got in between his teeth and layer that with plaque and it kept building up!  OMG!  I couldn't believe it and never have heard of that before!  They removed all of it along with the two teeth underneath!  I still feel awful but they did take care of it and he's doing well!  THANK GOD!!!!  Thank God it wasn't something worse or life threatening!  In the meantime, Suzie, didn't do very well at all with her brother 'missing' yesterday.  She was certainly in 'rare form'.  Now that everyone is home where they belong the "Blissful Household" is getting back into it's "Blissful Swing of Things".  Riley is re-cooping nicely and just about back to normal after yesterday's ordeal!  He's on Antibiotics and we do have pain pills if needed.

 In other news - since the last few days have been so nuts I decided to 'skip' this week of world foods and get back on track next week BUT will still be posting about the foods I do consume, regardless!  Last night I did a quick Veggie Burger - of course it was my most FAVORITE Veggie Burger - the Artichoke and Cashew ones I have talked about several times before...they are from Five Star Foods!

For a snack I had a few of these Orgran Corn Crisps with Viana Red Pepper Sunflower Veggie Spread and topped it with sprouts and Cherry Tomatoes!  They were AWESOME.  I have to say this is one of my NEW FAVORITE PRODUCTS!  It's so tasty, so creamy, so filling, it's great!  The flavor of the spread reminds me of Erie's Whole Foods Co-Op Deli Cashew Cheese!  No matter how hard I try I can't duplicate it!  But it also reminds me of the flavor of Garlic Bread dipped in Marinara!  It's FABULOUS!  I can't get enough of it and I will be ordering it again!  I also bought the Wild Herb one...I haven't tried it yet but if it's ANYTHING like the Red Pepper one I know I will LOVE IT!  I purchased them BOTH on VeganEssentials Website!  I have so many reviews, products, and tidbits to share with you I am getting behind so I have been considering pumping up to at least two blog posts per day!  At least that is my hope for a while!

MONTHS ago I (finally) watched the Forks Over Knives Documentary and I would recommend it to ANYONE and EVERYONE!  Last night I finally watched the Extended Interviews part which is above and beyond the documentary itself.  This is a photo that I took from my iPhone off my TV - not bad, eh?  It's a photo of T. Colin Campbell.  I have linked the wiki page if you are interested in reading more about him and his career - but in short - he is one of the brains behind Forks Over Knives as well as The China Study and many more enlightening projects!  He is an amazingly fascinating man who is compassionate and very knowledgeable!  Other people who are amazing to read up on and follow while talking about Forks Over Knives are Caldwell Esselstyn, Neal Barnard, and John McDougall - among others!  ALL Doctors and Professionals in their fields!  And people I have researched time and time again!  For those of you who have Netflix - you can watch BOTH the documentary AND the Extended Interviews for free with your subscription.  I believe there are like-documentaries on Hulu Plus as well!  They are definitely worth the watch!  They WILL BE and ARE an eye opener for everyone regardless of diet/food preferences!

That's my first installment for today!   Let me know if you have heard about "Hair in Teeth" in dogs, if you have tried any of the products I mentioned above, or if you have seen Forks Over Knives and your take on it.  And if you haven't - but know these health leaders - I would love to hear what positive things you have to say about them, their findings, and their teachings and/or lifestyles and how it's helped you!